An Apple a Day
by BrokenButStillStanding
Summary: After Elena escapes from her prison of seven years by stealing the Nagi Nagi No Mi, she stumbles upon a dark doctor and his dangerous pirate crew. She is going to need all the help she can get in order to save those that she left behind, if she can trust him that is. LawxOC story. I try to update every other day. READ WARNINGS INSIDE
1. Chapter 0 (Prologue)

**AN: Hi everyone and welcome to my story! Before we begin I just want to mention that if you are easily triggered this may not be the story for you. Also I loosely based Elena's backstory off of the film "The Seasoning House" in case it seemed familiar, although it is only loosely based.**

 **TW for: violence, mentions of non-con, mentions of PTSD and lemons**

 **Enjoy!**

 _If she could only get to the Devil Fruit she would be alright. She knew as soon as she overheard Dario talking about it, she knew it was her ticket out._

 _Nagi Nagi No Mi. Thats what he had called it. The Calm-Calm fruit._

 _If she could just get her hands on that fruit she might stand a chance. She had been here for seven years and she knew she would eventually die here unless she did something about it._

 _For now she continued her duties in the whorehouse. She spent her days tending to the girls there and cleaning up the already filthy establishment._

 _"_ _Elena."_

 _She perked up at the sound of her name. Dario, the owner of the brothel, stood before her with an irritated look on his face as he held out a wooden box for her to take. Elena glanced at the cracked clock on the wall, realizing she was indeed late to perform her duties. She wordlessly took the box from him and kept her head down as she passed him on the narrow staircase leading to the girls' rooms._

 _She entered the first one on her right, quickly taking a seat on the moth-eaten mattress and grasping the arm on the young girl who occupied it. She was new, Elena didn't recognize her. A stab of pity ran through her as it did every time there was a new shipment of girls, but she knew there wasn't anything she could do to help them. Yet._

 _"_ _Help me…please…" the girl who could have been no more than fourteen years of age pleaded with her._

 _Elena ignored her as she opened the wooden box and retrieved the vial and needle that was inside. She drew the liquid from the vial with practiced expertise as she bended the girl's arm to make it straight. She quickly injected it into the girl with only a small wince from her patient, who seemed to realize attempting to talk to her was futile._

 _She reached back in the box and pulled out a small pot of red paint, smearing the crude substance on the girl's lips and cheeks before popping the lid back into place._

 _Elena took the used needle and threw it into the bucket of waste by the bed, lifting it by the handle and placing it outside of the door of the room._

 _She knew in a few hours Dario would begin letting customers in and the girl would be introduced to the horrors that accompanied living here. The shelf life of a girl was usually no more than a few weeks, she would find at least one or two bodies a week._

 _As she passed the cracked mirror on the wall to enter the second room, she stopped to take a quick glance at herself. She knew she had it better than the working girls did, but her cheeks were still sunken in from malnourishment and her face was covered with dirt. She softly touched the two puckered scars running from her cheek and stopping a few centimeters before the corner of her mouth. That was the reason she was so lucky. The scars were from the day she had been taken, a double bladed sword had done this to her. But she found herself preferring the small disfigurement to what her fate would have been if she hadn't received it._

 _Instead Dario had ordered her to work for him, occasionally she was forced to share his bed but she was almost used to it by now. Not to say she liked it, but she stopped crying herself to sleep a few years ago._

 _With that she continued on to the next room and performed the same procedure on the girl in there, making her way down the hall slowly to prepare the girls._

 _Tonight. That is when she would do it. About a week ago Dario had traded one of his girls for a devil fruit, Elena had immediately become interested. As a regular girl there wasn't much she could do, but with the aid of one of the devil fruits she just might have a chance at surviving. How she longed to see the ocean again... She and her sister used to play in the waves as children, they enjoyed watching the ships roll in and out of port with their goods to trade. She didn't even know where she was anymore._

 _As she finished her duties she passed by some of Dario's lackeys, most of them ignored her as usual._

 _She hoped Dario hadn't eaten the fruit, although she was almost certain he was saving it to sell. The man had no further ambition than that of money, she had seen him do unforgivable things in the name of money and he wouldn't pass up the opportunity to sell something so rare. Still there was the small chance that he had decided to eat it, if that were the case she didn't know what she would do._

 _This fruit was her only chance._

 _She entered her room and shut the door. It wasn't much, she like the girls, had a moth eaten mattress and a threadbare blanket. She took the opportunity to lay down on the rickety bed and close her eyes, hoping maybe she could sleep a little to pass the time. She listened to the sounds of footsteps moving throughout the house, most likely Elias, Vaughn, Silas or Sidney hurrying to do Dario's bidding._

 _She missed the sounds of her mother and sister walking around their little house. Back when her father was still around they had lived in a large house, wanted for nothing, but there was something about the quaintness of the house they had lived in after his death that was comforting. Even if she was bitter towards him for leaving no money for her mother or sister, she couldn't deny it had made the three women closer._

 _Most of all she missed her big sister, Arienne. They had been close, as close as two sisters could be. Arienne had been starting to drift away from her in pursuit of friends her own age when their village was attacked. She lived in the Briss Kingdom in the South Blue, they were a port village so they had the occasional exposure to pirates but nothing like the Black Sail Pirates._

 _She had been fifteen when one day their lives were flung headfirst into chaos. She still had nightmares about the fire and the screams that surrounded her as their small village was attacked. Her mother had tried to hide herself and Arienne in the closet as the pirates ransacked their house, but they had been discovered when Elena had accidentally put her weight on the wrong floorboard and it creaked. The two sisters had been dragged out of their house, their mother screaming for them as the Captain of the crew ordered her execution and the bullet tore through her chest._

 _Elena had managed to break free and mindlessly rushed for her mother's body that lay crumpled on the ground, only to be flung to the side as she felt the double blades of the Captain's sword burning as they sliced through her cheek._

 _All the girls from ages fourteen to eighteen had been lined up and loaded onto their ship as they took them to their new home. Most of them would be dead within the next two weeks._

 _Hour after hour went by as Elena lay in her bed, listening to the crying and yelling in the rooms down the hallway. It would be her job in the morning to clean up the girls who had survived the night. If she was there in the morning that is._

 _Finally after an immeasurable amount of time that seemed like an eternity, she heard the last of the voices in the house leave. She knew this was when Dario went to his quarters, he had ordered her to lie with him the night before so she didn't think he would do it again tonight but she laid still for another hour just to make sure._

 _When she was almost certain no one would come looking for her during the night, she slowly got up from her bed and tip toed across the room as she took extra care not to step on any creaky boards. By the floor on one of the walls was her destination, a grated vent that was just big enough for someone of her size to fit through. She quietly used her fingers to unscrew the loose screws on the corners of the vent and carefully placed the grate to the side._

 _She had used the grate back when she first arrived in hopes of it leading to an exit. It hadn't, but it had lead to almost every other room in the house. She slowly slid her body through the opening, ignoring the cold metal against her skin as she used her arms to pull herself through to the slightly larger opening inside. She continued in this manner, navigating her way through the vents until she found the room she was looking for. Dario's office. It was always locked from the inside, the man having a key for whenever he needed to access it._

 _Elena slipped her fingers through the grates and unscrewed the screws again, slowly pulling the grate through the vent and placing it just behind her as she squeezed past the exit. She used her hands to brace herself on a cabinet as this grate was near the top of the ceiling. She brought one foot at a time to join her hands as she wobbled, grasping onto the wall to steady herself as she slowly slid down until her feet touched the ground._

 _There it was. The devil fruit sat on his desk across the room, patterned and swirly as it seemed to stand out from the dullness of the rest of the office. Elena carefully placed one foot in front of her, gradually placing her weight on it. She continued across the room, testing the floors for creakiness as she reached the fruit at last._

 _Her momentary happiness turned into unease as she examined it. How would she figure out how to use it? Would it just come to her? She had no idea how this sort of thing worked. As she picked it up with careful fingers she took a deep breath to quell her stomach as it jumped with fear. With no further hesitation she closed her eyes and took a bite of the fruit._

 _Ugh!_

It was awful! Elena tried not to retch as the extremely unpleasant taste invaded her mouth. She breathed through her nose as she chewed, squeezing her eyes shut and scrunching her nose as she forced herself to swallow the rancid thing. Was it supposed to taste like that?

 _As she swallowed she paused. She was pretty sure she only had to take one bite of the fruit, but she didn't feel any different…_

 _She racked her brains, how was she supposed to figure out how to use it? It was called the Nagi Nagi No Mi, otherwise known as Calm-Calm so perhaps she should try that?_

 _"_ _Calm…" she whispered. She waited….and waited….but nothing happened. No flash of light, no feeling of power, no miraculous change. She let out a sigh of disappointment, and froze._

 _She couldn't hear herself sigh. Cautiously she tried again,_

 _"_ _Hello?" She asked. Although she was certain she was speaking, no sound came out of her mouth._

 _Her stomach did a flip flop of excitement as she realized what had happened. She had done it…it worked!_

 _She tried to focus, she could figure out how to undo it later but right now the silence could work in her favor. Elena walked across the room again, this time noticing that the boards that would usually give a soft groan at her weight were being silent. Her grin grew as she hoisted herself atop the cabinet again and pulled herself through the vent once more._

 _Now it was time for step two. She crawled soundlessly through the vent a few turns and she arrived at another grate, this time as she looked through she could see the slumbering form of Dario Koch himself. He rested in his silk sheets, blonde hair, beard and mustache messy as his mouth was open in a snore. He had significant sun damage and wrinkles on his face, and although he was asleep she still felt a spike of fear at the sight of the crude businessman._

 _Elena repeated the process on the grade and slid herself out of it again as she eyed the man. She knew the only key to the front door was in the pocket of his pajama pants, all her efforts would be useless if she couldn't get that key. She silently made her way over to him, hesitating before slowly reaching out to him. Fear coursed through her body and she tried not to shake as she carefully began to reach inside his baggy pocket, feeling the weight of the key as she reached for it. She could feel the cool metal on her skin as she grasped it and began to pull it out._

 _Snort._

 _She froze in terror as she looked at the man's face, but he seemed to just be turning his head a little in his sleep. She let out a silent breath she didn't know she had been holding as she finished pulling the key out of his pocket triumphantly._

 _Now for step three. She began to get excited at the prospect of being free as she prepared to crawl back into the vent._

 _A cough sounded behind her. She froze, slowly turning her head as the blonde man on the bed slowly began to wake up. His blue eyes opened lazily and widened as he caught sight of her._

 _"_ _HEY!" He yelled._

 _Elena quickly shoved herself back into the vent as he crossed the room. He caught hold of her foot as she was about to crawl out of his reach, her mouth opened in a silent scream and she began to thrash her leg around. She caught him in the face and he recoiled, holding his nose as she scampered through the vent._

 _Front door. She had to get to the front door._

 _Pushing herself through the vent shaft as quickly as possible, she heard shouting and footsteps as the other guards were alerted to her whereabouts. She reached the grate to the vent by the door and quickly unscrewed it. She opened it and pulled the grate in by her as she noticed the guard right underneath her who was watching the front door. She still made no sound thanks to her new devil fruit powers, she slid out of the vent and landed right on top of him._

 _He yelled in surprise as she wasted no time wrangling the knife from his belt. A wave of rage washed through her. This man had been guarding the house, he was helping to keep them all here. She raised the knife above her head and didn't hesitate in bringing it down into the man's back. He gurgled as she repeated the motion over and over._

 _Elena jumped up as she heard footsteps rounding the corner and fumbled with the key as she tried to unlock the door. She felt a pair of arms go around her waist and she blindly slashed backwards, feeling happy when she heard a howl of pain behind her. She then turned around to see another one of the guards clutching a bloody arm. Two more rounded the corner as he charged at her, she shoved the knife into any piece of him she could reach and did the same to the third guard as he tried to assist his comrade._

 _She was covered in blood and about to turn to the remaining guard when three more came to join him, and these guys had guns._

 _She finished turning the key quickly and pushed the door open as she ran into the cool crisp air. She blinked in the sunlight as she ran, zig zagging around as bullets whizzed past her head. She was already out of breath, malnourishment and seven years of not running ensured her stamina was low. She reached the shore and spared a glance behind her._

 _The three guards that were still following her were quickly gaining on her, she turned to one of the small rowboats that were docked next to the larger ships and crawled in. She steadied herself as she boat rocked and took the oar to begin rowing._

 _She heard shouting behind her and she ducked as more bullets flew past her head. She heard a whistle and one voice shouting to the rest as the gunshots ceased. With a quick observation she realized that the men were retreating._

 _Joy surged through her as she realized she had done it, she was free! She floated away from the island she had lived on for seven years. She still had no idea where she was but even dying at sea would be better than being in that house for another day._

 _As she watched her prison disappear from view she felt the fatigue catch up with her. She laid down inside the small rowboat as she drifted along. She would figure out where she was in the morning, right now all that mattered was that she get as far away from the island as possible._

 _She felt herself yawn and her eyes get heavy as she went. She'd be back to free the other girls for certain, but she would need a little help first._


	2. Chapter 1

Law was in a good mood when he woke up. The sub was scheduled to surface for a bit today, assuming the waters stayed as calm as they had been. It wasn't that he disliked being on the sub, quite the contrary, but he could use the fresh air.

Not to mention that his first mate, Bepo, had been complaining for the past few days of the heat. Life on a submarine was odd, it was either burning hot or freezing cold depending on what part of the ship you were on. The nearer you were to the engine, the hotter it was. Shachi and Penguin, the engineers of the fine vessel, were almost in a constant sweaty state.

On the other side, the further away from the engine you were the colder you became. It also depended on the depth of the submarine. The deeper it was, the colder. The lack of sunlight reaching through the cold ocean waters caused the air to become chilly. It normally never bothered Law. He had his sweaters for the cold days, and on the hot days he would opt to traverse the vessel without it.

Still, the fresh air would do his crew good. Law prided himself on being a good Captain. He didn't want his men to follow him out of fear, all that would lead to was inevitable revolt. No, he wanted his men to respect him. So if that meant relenting to surfacing every once in a while to ease their restlessness, so be it.

"Bepo, how close are we?" He inquired to the polar bear. The navigator leaned over some of the many controls to examine a few dials.

"250 feet and rising, Captain." He affirmed, smiling happily at the dark man in front of him.

Law was scary, he knew that, but Bepo had been with him for the past ten years. He was his best friend, nothing he could do would frighten him. Law was thankful to have him by his side. Right as he thought he had lost everything he ever cared for, Bepo had appeared and showed him true friendship.

Sometimes Law wondered how his family would react to how he chose to live his life. It wasn't anything he was expecting it to be. He was sure they would understand, especially if they had met Corazon, they would understand why he had to do this. Why he decided to become a pirate.

He had no more time to think upon the past, his crew let out a loud cheer as the sub broke the surface of the water. Shachi and Penguin immediately went to unseal the submarine hatch so they could get some sunlight.

As the pirate put his spotted hat on his head and straightened his dark blue feathered sweater the rest of his crew rushed the doors. With a minuscule smile on his face he followed them, his good mood improving with the blast of sea air that hit his face.

The sea was calm this morning, the waves lolled against the side of the ship as Law walked to the railing of the deck. The sun shone down, the chilly air biting against his skin. He had never felt more at home.

He was partial to cold weather himself, growing up in the North Blue. He was happy to be back, even if he was only sailing through. He vaguely registered Bepo's excited chattering as the bear took in the cool breeze. Law was too content just staring out in the ocean to pay much attention to what his navigator was saying.

And in the span of a second his mood changed.

"Bepo, pass me the telescope." He demanded, eyes narrowing at the speck in the distance. It was too small to be a marine ship, but that didn't mean anything. The first mate quickly did as his Captain asked, bringing the brass instrument to him as he peered through it.

A boat. A tiny rowboat. Law frowned, there was no logical reason a rowboat would be this far out into the ocean. Not only that, but it seemed to be halfway sunken underwater. He didn't see anyone sitting in it, only a half snapped oar tilting out of the vessel.

"Is that a rowboat?" Bepo asked, squinting.

"It appears so." Law responded, not taking his eye away from the telescope. He gave a deep sigh as he gave in to his curiosity, he just knew he was going to regret this.

"Bepo, bring us in closer." He ordered. The bear nodded and went below deck to redirect them.

By this point most of his crew had noticed his attentions. They had crowded behind their Captain, trying their hardest to see what he was peering at. Law ignored the curious mumbling behind him as he felt the sub turn slightly and the shape gradually grow closer.

Eventually the sub was close enough that Law could peer into the rowboat. It didn't seem to be empty at all, instead a girl was laying on the bottom of the boat. She appeared to be unconscious or asleep, she was covered in blood and her matted hair floated a bit in the boat. He could see that she had shoved some seaweed into a tiny hole in the boat, that would explain the half sunken state of the ship.

He looked back at his crew, eyeing their nervous but urgent expressions. He sighed, he knew exactly what his crew was thinking and as much as he hated to admit it he agreed with them. He was supposed to be a ruthless killer, thats what he reminded himself anyways as he prepared to call out to the woman.

"Hey!" He yelled, his low voice loud over the sounds of the small waves. "You! Hey!" He tried again. The girl seemed to twitch a bit and squeezed her eyes shut as she rolled onto her back. With a stretch she opened them and sat up.

She froze. When she saw the giant submarine and the pirate crew staring down at her she scrambled a bit, reaching for her broken oar as she pointed it at them threateningly. Law just raised an eyebrow as she seemed to look for the right words to say.

"Stay away from me!" She called out. She seemed shocked at her own voice for a moment, frowning a little as her attention was diverted. Law was just silent, watching her.

"You are injured." He stated, snapping her out of her inner dialogue. "No I'm not!" She argued, voice still a little hesitant. The look on Law's face seemed to tell her otherwise.

"What do you want from me!?" She demanded, oar still pointed at them. She was leaned back and Law could see how thin she was. She looked awful if he was honest with himself.

"Well I happen to be in a very generous mood today, so I was going to offer to take you to the nearest island and drop you off." He began, he noted her skeptical look and rolled his eyes. "If you'd prefer to float along in that death trap until you die, be my guest."

She seemed to be conflicted for a moment. Finally she seemed to realize that what he was saying was true and nodded to him.

"Alright…" She agreed.

"Swim to the side of the sub and we will pull you up." Law told her, the crew already preparing a length of rope.

"I can't…" she responded, sounding conflicted again.

"Why not?" He inquired nonchalantly. "I can't swim…" she said in the same confused sounding tone. Law raised an eyebrow once more.

"You don't know how to swim and you decided to take a shitty rowboat out in the middle of the sea?"

"No, I know how to swim! I just can't…" She said. Law didn't say anything, just stared at her dully.

"Have it your way then." He offered with a shrug, beginning to walk away from the railing.

"Captain! You…I mean we aren't going to leave her, are we?" Shachi asked, trying miserably to mask his concern. Both of his engineers had too much heart to be pirates, thats what he had told them when they had asked to join. But they were as loyal to him as he was to them.

"Troublesome." Law muttered as crossed the deck to the coil of rope. He took his nodachi from his sheath and cut a section of it off. "Room."

Suddenly the girl was encased in a blue sphere, he ignored the surprised shout from her as he switched her places with the cut portion of rope.

Just like that the girl was on deck. Her long dark brown hair was matted and stained with blood, it hung in her face but Law could still make out her eyes. They were a murky brown with flecks and splashes of green mixed in. The next thing his attention was drawn to was her cheek. She had two scars running parallel from her cheekbone to just past the corner of her lips. The scar was old and slightly puckered, done in a single clear stroke.

She was malnourished. He could tell that much even through the much too big grey t-shirt she wore and the dirty and faded floral knee-length skirt covering her legs. Her face was sunken in, she was an unhealthy shade of pale and her arms and legs were thin and bony. Her collarbone stuck out and her eyes were surrounded by dark circles. Not to mention the blood she was covered in.

"Come with me. I'll treat you." He told her, turning without checking to see if she had gotten up to follow.

" _You're_ a doctor?" She asked incredulously, it was the first time Law had heard her speak in a way that had not sounded confused or scared. Law's lips quirked a bit as he turned too look back at her and gave her a simple nod.

Had she never heard of him? Law wasn't a self absorbed man, but he knew his wanted poster had been slapped on almost every wall in every village. Even the smallest child knew who he was, and knew to fear him. But this girl acted as though she had never heard a thing about him.

He continued walking, his only sign that she followed him were the footsteps behind him. He could tell there were more than just one pair, as he reached the medical room he turned to see why. Penguin and Shachi had been slowly pushing the reluctant girl along, Jean-Bart in the back.

Law gave a grin that sent a shiver down the girl's spine. "Why don't you boys go get Vincent to cook something up for our guest. I'll take good care of her."

He took a sort of sadistic pleasure in the way her eyes widened in slight panic before she regained a sense of control. Shachi and Penguin reluctantly followed Jean-Bart to the kitchen as Law opened the door for the girl. She walked inside slowly, her thin limbs trembling oh so slightly. The Captain went to wash his hands and put on some latex gloves as the girl sat on the examination table.

"Whats your name?" Law asked as he grabbed a few tools.

"Elena." She responded simply, offering nothing more. "Whats yours?" She asked.

So he was right. She really did have no inkling of who his was.

"Law. Trafalgar Law." He said, moving to examine the girl. He pulled a bucket of water and a sponge with him as he began to sponge the blood off of her arms and legs. As he did so he frowned, he was only finding small cuts and scrapes.

"Where are your injuries?" He questioned, not looking up as he tried to search for the source of the bloodbath covering her.

"I told you, I'm not injured." She insisted. Law just gave her a withering look, not in the mood for any kind of games.

"Then where did all this blood come from?" He asked, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms.

"It's not mine." She said, looking down at her hands. Now _that_ was surprising. The woman was so tiny and frail that he highly doubted she could cause that much destruction. Not in her state.

"Can I ask you a question?" She said, interrupting his train of thought. Law didn't say anything, only looked at her. She must have taken his silence as affirmation, as she began to speak. "What you did on deck, with me and the rope, are you a devil fruit user?"

Law simply nodded, waiting for her to get to her point. "Do you…I mean, how did you figure out how to use it?" She asked. She wasn't timid, that wasn't the right word. No, she was bold but her mannerisms seemed to tell him otherwise. She was closed off, folded in on herself as though she wanted to take up as little space as possible.

"Why the interest?" He asked, causing her to look nervous again.

"No reason." She said. Law wasn't an idiot. Did she want to find a devil fruit? Did she already have one? He doubted she was asking out of pure curiosity, but he decided to let it go for the time being. She was starting to smell, the blood and dirt wafting through the room and causing him to wrinkle his nose.

He stood, pushing his chair back to the corner and removing his gloves. "If you aren't injured then I'll have Shachi show you to the showers and give you something clean to wear."

With that he left, calling for his crew member as she sat on the examination table and stared after him.

He didn't know what possessed him to take pity on her, he was supposed to be ruthless. Well, he was in a good mood.


	3. Chapter 2

**AN: Hey! I just wanted to let you guys know I made a soundtrack for this fic. You can find it here**

 **www. 8tracks offbook/an-apple-a-day (remove spaces)**

Elena scrubbed hard at her skin, trying her best to enjoy the hot water despite the circumstances. She didn't know what to make of the strange man who had rescued her, she wasn't sure if she trusted him. With any luck the next island would be close by and she could leave his presence, something about him sent shivers down her spine. Maybe it was the word DEATH tattooed on his fingers, or maybe it was the cocky look he wore. She was under his control and he knew it. He was right though, her only other option had been floating aimlessly in a slowly sinking rowboat. Elena didn't know a lot about the sea, but that didn't seem like a good idea.

She had forgotten that a bullet had grazed the boat as she left the island, by the time she realized it the water was already pooling around her feet. She had scooped up some of the floating seaweed and stuffed it as tightly as she could into the small hole which seemed to work for the time being, she had been so exhausted she had fallen back asleep and forgotten about the entire thing. Until the man woke her up that is. Law, thats what he said his name was.

She stepped out of the shower, feeling truly clean for the first time in a long time. She reached for a towel to dry herself with and put on the boiler suit that the man who had shown her to the showers had given her.

When she looked in the mirror she tried not to wince, she had few scrapes from her escape but she looked sickly. The boiler suit hung off her, it was made for a man and it didn't help that Elena could count her ribs on a good day. Her eyes were sunken in and there were dark circles underneath them. Even though her hair was washed, it was still matted and unhealthy looking. Although she was disgusted with the image in the mirror, she felt a strange sense of pride. She survived. She had lived. She gave her reflection a small smile before she cracked the door to the bathroom open.

"Ah, your done." A voice said from next to the door. Elena jumped, startled at the sudden voice. She turned to see a dark haired man in a white boiler suit just like everyone else wore. He also had on a hat with the word 'penguin' on the front.

She finally registered that he had spoken to her and she nodded quietly. "My name is Penguin, nice to meet ya! The Captain asked me to take you to the dining hall when you were finished."

"Uh…thanks…" she said slowly. He nodded as though he didn't notice her hesitation and began to walk, motioning for her to follow. She didn't say anything else during their short trip to the dining hall, but Penguin was constantly pointing out this or that on the sub.

Elena stopped paying attention when she got to the dining hall. Her stomach grumbled loudly and she looked on with wide eyes at the wide assortment of food that lay on the table. Dario and his men had dinners like this almost every night, but she was usually left with scraps. Sometimes she wouldn't eat at all if he was in a bad mood. She didn't complain though, the other girls were fed even less than her.

"Nice of you to join us. Come, sit." The dark man, Law, said. He was sitting at the head of the table and gestured to an empty seat.

All around the table sat men dressed in the white boiler suit she had seen. She recognized the redheaded man who had shown her to the shower, Law, and a polar bear she had noticed briefly as she came aboard. Elena had never heard of a talking polar bear before, but she was a little too intimidated to try asking it any questions.

All eyes were on her, an uncomfortable feeling washing over her as the men just blinked at her. A feeling of panic began to well up in her gut, normally she had Dario to protect her. He was an awful man who deserved to rot in the deepest pits of hell, but in his eyes she was his property and his alone. He never allowed any of the other men who visited to try anything funny with her, but that wasn't the case now. She was alone now.

She almost scoffed at herself, she didn't miss Dario. Not in the slightest, but at least she knew if she kept him happy she wouldn't have anything to fear from the terrifying men that traversed the halls in search of a girl to quench their needs. As bad as his abuse was, at least she had been fed (however little) and clothed (however ratty).

"If you are all quite finished, I'd recommend picking your jaws up off the floor and returning to your meals before Bepo eats it all."

She was snapped out of her thoughts as the doctor spoke. The men almost immediately went back to their food, resuming their chatting as if nothing had ever happened.

She stiffly took the seat that Law had pointed at, in between a very large man and the redhead. She kind of just stared at the food for a moment before the redhead spoke.

"Aren't you going to eat?" He asked.

"Am I allowed to?" Elena responded.

He gave her an odd look, "why would we bring you in here if you weren't allowed to eat?"

She gave a small shrug as she slowly reached for some of the food, glancing at him as if he might change his mind. He just continued to give her a strange look as she put food on her plate. The staring battle stopped once she had something on her plate, she then proceeded to shovel food in her mouth. She tried not to choke as she stuffed as much as she could into her cheeks.

"Whoa, slow down! No ones gonna take it from you!" The redhead said, holding his hands up. She noticed she had garnered not only his attention, but the attention of the big guy on the other side of her and just about the entire rest of the table, including Law. Her cheeks flushed in embarrassment, but she slowed down.

One by one the men began to leave the table and excuse themselves either to bed or to perform other duties. She sat there, unsure of what she should do, until it was just herself and the doctor. She shuffled uncomfortably as he stared at her with cold grey eyes.

"So, why were you in a rowboat in the middle of the sea covered in blood that wasn't yours?" He asked, putting his hands behind his head as he propped his feet up. She froze, unsure of how to answer. Should she tell him? What if he decided to bring her back? He must have seen the panic in her eyes, but he continued to look at her expectantly.

"I…I was being held prisoner…I escaped…" She said. That was true enough, she had been held prisoner.

That seemed to pique his interest. "Prisoner? What did you do?" He asked her, his tone sounded like he didn't really care but she could see him sharply looking at her.

"I didn't do anything!" She defended. "Well last time I checked, the Marines don't hold people prisoner for being law abiding." He said with a note of contempt.

"I wasn't held prisoner by the Marines." She answered, the Marines had sat back and allowed it to happen but they weren't the one holding the gun. Law nodded, but thankfully didn't pry any further into who exactly held her captive.

"And you managed to escape with only a few scratches?" He prodded in a different direction. Elena didn't want to tell him about her devil fruit ability if she could help it, so far it was her only weapon.

"I'm a skilled fighter." She lied. This caused him to let out a barking laugh as he stood up.

"I'm sure. Follow me, I'll show you where you can sleep."

Elena slowly stood and followed, the food in her stomach wasn't sitting well with her. She had eaten a bit too much, but she was just happy not to have the gnawing feeling of hunger in her stomach. She walked behind Law as he led her through the maze of a ship, she was unsettled as she saw the fish swim by the windows. She had seen this man use devil fruit powers, was he not worried that he was completely surrounded by his biggest weakness? Because it freaked her out.

He finally stopped at a door and took out a key, unlocking it. He walked inside and ushered her in, inside the small room was a simple bed and night stand. It wasn't much, but the bed looked especially appealing to her right then.

"Bepo used to stay here when it was just him and me. He has since moved in with the rest of the crew." Law explained, Elena nodded although she had no idea who this Bepo guy was.

"We will reach the next island in about two days, we will drop you off there."

As he turned to leave she stopped him.

"Why did you help me?" She asked. She was truly curious, she had noticed he wasn't exactly the most hospitable person ever. So why would he help her?

"You caught me on a good day" he said with a smirk that sent a bad kind of shiver down her spine. With that he shut the door behind him and she was alone, but not before she heard a soft click. With wide eyes she strode over to the door and tried the handle.

He had locked her in!

Law was still smirking as he locked the door. The girl, Elena, intrigued him. She had said she was held prisoner, she hadn't said for how long but that could explain why she didn't seem to know who he was. She would have had to be a prisoner for a very long time in order for that to be plausible. It also explained her behavior at dinner, she had been eating so quickly he was surprised she hadn't choked on her food. Almost as though if she didn't eat it as quickly as she could someone would take it from her.

Not to mention the fact that she seemed to have escaped with very minimal scratches. She said she was a skilled fighter, but Law wasn't that stupid. The girl was skin and bones, even if she had been a proficient fighter at one point she didn't have the muscle or stamina to back it up. She had to have gotten out another way.

He briefly considered that she had escaped without being seen, but the fact that she had been covered in blood contradicted that idea. She had seemed very interested in his devil fruit and how it worked, but so far she had shown no signs of having one herself.

He shrugged as he walked back to his own room. She wasn't going anywhere locked in like that, and even if she somehow got out and decided to pull something over on him he was certain his crew possessed the brute strength necessary to contain her.

He'd have to give her a full physical in the morning, maybe that would explain something.


	4. Chapter 3

**AN: Thanks for the support everyone! Remember to check out the soundtrack, link is in my profile and in the last chapter!**

When Law went to collect Elena from her room that morning he was surprised to see that she was still sleeping. She hadn't even heard him open the door it seemed. He quietly walked over to her and nudged her shoulder

"Get up" he said with his usual demanding tone. Just like that she snapped out of a dead sleep and sat up, flinching slightly

"I'm sorry!" She apologized. Law just stood there as she took in her surroundings. "Oh…" he heard her say as she realized where exactly she was and who she was speaking to.

"Sorry…I thought you were someone else" she apologized. His eye twitched at her apologizing, one over-apologetic person on board was enough and that spot was currently filled by Bepo.

"Who did you think I was?" He asked, still trying to wheedle little bits of information out of her.

"Just someone." Was her response.

"Well breakfast is ready if you want to eat. I'm going to give you a full physical after breakfast." He explained, she looked at him oddly as she got up to follow.

"Why?" She questioned.

"I need to make sure everything is alright." He explained to her.

"I appreciate the concern but I'm fine" she said.

"Oh I'm not concerned about you, I just have to make sure you aren't going to infect my crew with anything." He said dryly as he walked.

He heard her feet stop and when he looked behind him she had her mouth open with an affronted look on her face that made him smirk.

"I am _not_ diseased!" She said loudly, the loudest he had heard her talk yet. Interesting.

"I'll be the judge of that." He said, still hiding his shit-eating grin. He heard her huff behind him but the footsteps resumed. The pair walked into the dining area where the rest of his crew had already gathered. Many of them greeted him as they walked in and he nodded back pleasantly as he took his seat.

The girl sat down where she had the night before and looked a little nervous, eyes darting back and forth as she reached for her food. There was that strange behavior again, like she was going to get scolded for eating. Obviously no one did anything of the sort and he could see her start to slowly relax. She didn't eat as quickly as the night before, but he could still see a guarded expression on her face and she leaned her entire body over her plate as the ate.

"Captain, we seem to be closer to the next island than expected. The currents weren't as strong as I had predicted so we covered some extra distance during the night. We should arrive at the island by late tonight." Bepo reported. Law nodded to his navigator and best friend. Excellent, they would be rid of their guest sooner than he had anticipated.

Breakfast was over fairly quickly, his crew wasn't one to take their time while eating. If they took too long another one of their crew mates would likely steal something off of their plate. As they began to disperse to their stations he nodded to Elena.

"Come with me." He instructed, she did as she asked without question. He led her to his operating room and motioned for her to sit on the examining table. She did so with some difficulty as she tried to hoist herself up, but ultimately she managed.

"So what exactly is it you want?" She asked, he could see a guarded expression on her face.

"Just a routine physical. First I need to ask you some questions. First would be your full name." He asked, pulling out a clipboard as he took a seat.

"Elena Suggitt."

"Where are you from originally?"

"The Briss Kingdom in the South Blue."

He looked up at that. "Well you are rather far away from home, aren't you?"

"Where are we?" She asked worriedly. She didn't know where she was? Surely she had some inkling.

"The North Blue. You were floating away from the Lvneel Kingdom when we found you." He responded. "Now how old are you?"

He waited for an answer but he got none. When he looked up to prompt an answer she was staring in shock.

"I'm in the North Blue?" She asked, she sounded completely caught off guard. He nodded in affirmation and she took a deep breath.

"Now hold old are you?" He asked again, not having much patience for her shock.

"I'm…um…" She counted on her fingers, one at a time, as she looked up as if she was recalling something. "I think I'm 22 now" she said.

"You think?" He prodded with a raised eyebrow. After he received no response again he decided to continue on.

"I assume you don't know your height and weight?" He remarked, standing and going over to where he kept his scales.

"No" she said as she hopped off the table and walked over to where he was gestured to the measuring devices.

"Lets see…5'6"…..only 100 pounds….you should be at the very least 120 at your height. 135-140 would be the target weight." He explained with slight surprise. He knew she was malnourished but not this much.

"Alright, sit back down on the table" he instructed, watching as she struggled again. Yeah, he definitely didn't believe her when she said she was a strong fighter. She could barely lift her own body weight.

He stepped forwards and began with using his stethoscope to record her heartbeat. Then he moved on to her reflexes and shining a light in her eyes, everything was going routinely until he requested that she lay down. She looked exceptionally nervous as she did so, but complied anyways. When he began to feel her abdomen to assess the consistency, size, location and tenderness of her organs she freaked.

She slapped his hands away, catching him off guard.

"Don't touch me!" She said with a shaky but dangerous voice as she scrunched up and scooted as far back into the corner as she could. Law was beginning to piece together the situation, a sinking feeling of pity in his gut.

"I'm sorry. Here, I'll go sit over here, alright?" He told her, a bit more gently than he usually spoke. The last thing he wanted to do was spook her right now, that would be more trouble than it was worth.

She continued to sit in the corner, hugging her knees and staring at him warily. He stared back at her.

"How did you say you escaped from prison again?" He asked.

"I wasn't in prison…" She said quietly.

"You said you were a prisoner."

"Yeah."

He sighed in frustration, sensing he wasn't going to get much more out of the girl. Not right now at least.

"Fine. Come with me."

He led her back to her small room which was just fine with her. The lock clicked again and she crawled under the comfortable blankets. She was pretty sure anything would feel comfortable compared to what she used to sleep on. She was tired of Law's questions, with any luck tomorrow morning she would be able to leave here.

She didn't really have a plan yet, she had no food, no money, no skills, no way to get a job, no shelter, no clothing and no one to look out for her.

All she knew was that she needed to get as far away from that island…somewhere in the Lvneel Kingdom Law had said…as possible. Then she would get help and return for the others.

She didn't know where she was going to find help exactly…she couldn't go to the marines, they were some of the brothels best customers after all. Mercenaries? Maybe, but she didn't have any money to pay them with. She had no idea, hopefully someone would take pity on her and help her find work or somewhere to stay and then she could ask around.

 _What would you do, Arienne?_

She missed her big sister. It seemed like she always knew the right answer, a smile graced her face as she thought about her. Her hand reached up to trace the twin scars on her cheek, smile slowly fading at the reminder of the day her life ended. The boat ride to the island seemed to take forever, although they were all too drugged up to have any semblance of time.

 _"_ _You just had to scar the face, Antone!?" Dario had exclaimed as he examined her, she hadn't known his name at the time. She and the other girls had been lined up as Dario walked up and down, staring at each one. Instead of flinching under his gaze she held it firm, subdued fire raging in her eyes. He stared at her for another moment before moving back to the front of the room._

 _"_ _Alright. I will take that one" he pointed to a shivering blonde, "that one" pointing to a redhead with freckles dusting her face and shoulders, "that one" a small girl who couldn't be over thirteen years old, "that one" he pointed at Arienne, "and that one" he pointed at her._

 _"_ _Alright. Men, take the throw outs. I don't care what you do with them but they can't leave this island." The Captain who had brought them here said. There was screaming and panic as the girls who hadn't been selected were dragged away. Elena's gut seized as she watched it happen, helpless to do anything. Suddenly an arm grasped hers, she turned to see one of the pirates trying to drag her away with the others._

 _"_ _Not her you lug!" The Captain exclaimed, hitting the pirate on the head as he released her. She huddled by Arienne who hugged her tightly._

 _"_ _But look at her face! She won't sell!" The pirate argued._

 _"_ _It's my decision. I'm the one paying for them." Dario said, handing over an enormous bag of gold. It was more than Elena had ever seen in her life._

 _"_ _I'm not complaining. What are you gonna do with her though?" The Captain said, shaking the bag to determine how much gold was in it._

 _"_ _Don't worry. I've got a special job for her."_

The next time she saw Arienne, it was her cold lifeless face staring up at her. It was then in her life that she realized God didn't exist. How could he when he let things like this happen? If he existed then why would he save her? Arienne was the one worth saving. She was beautiful, smart, talented, she had so much to offer the world. Who was she? She was just a scarred, frightened girl who had barely learned to read before she quit school to help her mother with the shop.

She laid down on the comfortable mattress and closed her eyes, but unbidden images came to her mind as she did so.

 _"_ _You will take care of the girls in this house. We are on an island, surrounded by water on all sides, no one knows you are here and the ones who do are not here to help you. You will not ask them for help, if I find out that you have then I won't hesitate to slit your throat. Understood?" Dario explained, sitting on his bed while she stood stock still and terrified in front of him._

 _She nodded hesitantly, but it seemed to be enough for Dario. He gave a sickeningly sweet smile that she learned was more manipulative than genuine, and reached out to stroke her hair._

 _"_ _Good girl." He cooed, she flinched as he played with her hair. "Don't worry now, I'll take good care of you. You've got it good, you are way better off here, you'll see. But if you want me to take care of you, you have to take care of me." He said with a dangerous glint in his eyes as he pulled her onto the bed._

 _She had fought him. She quickly learned why fighting Dario was a bad idea. She was only fifteen and it had been her first time, she had cried all night long. After the next few times the tears stopped and after that she learned to go deep inside her head where she could pretend it wasn't happening until it was over._

She opened her eyes, now filled with tears. Why did this happen to her? What did she do wrong? There was no way any sort of God would allow that to happen. She used to have dreams, aspirations. Maybe they weren't big ones but they were there.

She wanted to take over the shop for her mother when she was old enough, meet a nice man and settle down, maybe even have a few children of her own.

Now her mother was dead, the shop burned to the ground along with the rest of the village, finding a man was the very last thing on her mind and children…they weren't possible anymore.

 _"_ _Hold still. This won't hurt a bit!" The doctor had said._

 _He lied._

 _It stung like hell, the doctor had apparently gone around to all the new girls and then paid her a visit. After poking and prodding her for a while he pulled out a syringe and stuck it into her arm._

 _It only took moments before she felt the worst pain of her life down in her lower stomach. She fell down onto her knees as she clutched it, looking at the doctor with wide frightened eyes._

 _"_ _Don't worry dear, this will just ensure we don't have any happy little accidents down the road" the doctor chuckled._

 _She wanted to scream at him, he acted like she wanted to be here, like she was a willing participant. But she couldn't make out anything over the pain, tears flooding out of her eyes as she screamed. She vaguely felt someone patting her hair and registered it as the doctor._

 _"_ _W-what did you do to me?" She asked with a choked voice after the pain subsided._

 _"_ _Like I said, to ensure no little bundles of joy come along."_

 _"_ _I- I can't have kids? Ever?" She asked in disbelief. That couldn't be it, one little shot couldn't have taken that away from her forever._

 _"_ _That is correct."_

She missed Arienne. Her mother. Her life. She laid in bed and cried, truly cried for the first time that she had allowed herself in years.

She cried for hours. Ignoring the redheaded man telling her lunch was ready, ignoring the doctor coming in to tell her to come with him to dinner, ignored the tray of food he had finally set down in her room a few hours later with a frustrated look on his face.

She just laid there. But deep inside her there was a spark. She was coming back for the other girls, even if it killed her.


	5. Chapter 4

**AN: I am going out of town until Tuesday so the next update will be either Tuesday or Wednesday night depending on how tired I am when I get back. Enjoy!**

By the time the next morning rolled around Elena was more than ready to get off the submarine. The air was crisp and cool as her hair whipped in the wind on the deck. The crew was bustling around her in preparation for docking. She hated to admit it but she would kind of miss them once she was gone.

The men on the crew had been exceptionally kind to her, she wasn't used to it and it was a refreshing change. Even so, she had to continue working towards her goal of finding allies to help take down Dario.

"Are you ready to go?" Law asked her. She could tell the man had been growing less and less patient over the days, however brief his moment of generosity had been she was grateful that he had picked her up. He was an intimidating figure, his tattoos standing out starkly on his skin, his finger tattoos sent a chill down her spine every time she saw them. Although she was grateful, she was grown up enough to admit he scared her.

She nodded and he called out to his crew as he grasped her arm roughly. "Room" he called and she felt like she was falling for a split second before they appeared on the shore. As she began to walk towards the small town she noticed he followed her.

"Why are you coming with me?" She asked curiously. If the doctors attitude was anything to go by then he couldn't wait to be rid of her.

"I need to make sure you aren't going to tip anyone off about our presence." He said threateningly, she gave him another confused look.

"Why would I do that?" She inquired. Nothing he was saying made any sense, even if she did tell someone that he had helped her why would it bother him? He looked at her as if she was an idiot, his expression withering.

"Our bounties." He explained, Elena stopped in her tracks with her mouth gaping open wide.

"B-bounties!? You guys are criminals!?" She exclaimed loudly, much to his annoyance as he covered her mouth to prevent her from shouting anything else.

"What did you think we were?" He asked with a slightly amused expression at her fear.

She wasn't sure how to answer that. She had assumed they were a fishing vessel or trading merchants, but now that she thought about it there hadn't been any fishing equipment on board (not to mention they were on a submarine) or any cargo. There was also the large symbol that the entire crew wore that was also on the side of their ship.

She gaped, trying to find words as he raised an eyebrow at her. Her heart was beating a million miles an hour, these men were _pirates!?_ But they had all been so kind to her! With exception of Law, although from what she could tell he was also being uncharacteristically nice judging by his crew members comments.

She couldn't wait until she was out of this situation…

The pair arrived at the small town which was as busy as could be, it reminded her of the market back at home. She gave a sad smile as they approached.

"Have you seen this girl?" She heard a voice say to a group of people down the street from her. Her eyes widened in fear. She knew that voice.

It was Elias Cooper. Dario's right hand man. He must have sent him off in one of their own ships to go find her. Almost in slow motion she turned around to confirm her suspicions.

Her heart all but stopped and without warning she bolted, she heard the Law call out to her in surprise which caught the attention of Elias.

"There she is!" He called and without further hesitation footsteps were thundering behind her. She was already out of breath, trying not to trip on anything as she tried to find a place to hide. This couldn't be happening…she refused to go back! She would die first!

She bolted left and right until an arm caught hers and she was yanked off to the side. She tried to scream but a large hand covered her mouth as she struggled hopelessly.

"What the fuck is going on!" An angry voice shouted from the man holding her. She calmed a little as she realized it wasn't Elias who had caught her, it was Law.

"What do you think you are doing!? I have half a mind to slit your throat!" He yelled angrily, Elena could hear more footsteps approaching as she tried to hastily quiet the man in front of her. When she realized they were getting too close and he was showing no signs of stopping she had an idea.

"Calm" she whispered. Law looked confused and angry as he opened his mouth to yell again, but when nothing came out of his mouth a look of realization came over his face. He paled considerably as he tried to speak again. Neither of them made any noise. She pulled him back next to her, huddling behind a dumpster as she heard the footsteps run past her.

The entire time Law was looking at her with a ghostly white face, staring at her in shock and eyes swimming with mixed emotions. Was he really that surprised? He had a devil fruit power of his own, so it wasn't like he had never heard of them before. Elena released the silence as the footsteps faded and he sat there with wide eyes for another moment before opening his mouth and trying to form words.

"You ate the Nagi Nagi No Mi?" He asked in a choked voice, eyes still wide and face still white as a sheet. She nodded in response, still afraid the footsteps would come back.

"…how…?" He trailed off, Elena peeked around the corner. She didn't see anybody but she knew if Elias was here then others were too. She couldn't stay here.

"Please. Please take me back to your ship, get me out of here and I'll explain everything." She pleaded with Law. She was still scared of him, what person in their right mind wouldn't be afraid of pirates? But the thought of returning to Dario scared her just a little bit more.

The doctor seemed to snap out of his shock and he nodded, setting his jaw as he gripped her arm roughly and began heading back to the ship.

* * *

Law felt like he couldn't breathe. This girl had eaten the Nagi Nagi No Mi, memories of Cora-san echoed through his head. The last time he had seen that ability had been the day Corazon died. When the girl asked to be taken back to his ship he had agreed instantly, if it had been any other devil fruit ability he would have declined. He would have let her fend for herself. But this was too close to home…too much of a reminder of Corazon….

She stuck very close by his side as they went back to the ship, she kept glancing around nervously for the men who had been chasing her.

As the boarded, Shachi looked surprised to see her back.

"Hey there! Whats going on, Captain?" He asked curiously. Law barely looked at him as he dragged Elena inside the sub, calling back at Shachi as he went.

"Change of plans. Tell Bepo to get us out of here immediately."

Shachi voiced his confirmation as he continued to drag her down into the sub and towards his own room, never relenting his grasp on her wrist. When they got there he pushed her inside and shut the door behind him as he felt the submarine began to move.

When he turned around she was looking around at his room, it was the only one with a bathroom attached and most of the room was taken up by his bed. He didn't have much room to spare on the ship so the other half of his room was taken up by a dresser, a desk and a bookshelf for the many nights he stayed up reading. When he looked back at her she was staring at him nervously, he crossed his arms and took a seat at his desk chair.

"Explain." He said and she fiddled with the edge of the jumpsuit she had been given to wear as she thought of where to begin.

"What do you want to know?" She finally asked.

"I want to know who those men chasing you were, where you got your hands on a devil fruit, and why you were floating in the middle of the sea when we found you" he demanded, not in the mood for playing games.

"I was floating in the ocean because I had just escaped from a pleasure house. Seven years ago my village was raided by pirates and all the girls were taken, I got this scar on my face so I wasn't put to work, instead I took care of the house and tended to the owner." She explained, tracing the side of her face as she spoke. He waited for her to answer his other questions before he asked any more.

"I got ahold of the Nagi Nagi No Mi because Dario, the owner, traded one of the girls for it. It was my only hope of escaping. The men on that island work for the brothel, they were probably looking for me so they could bring me back." She finished. She still had a nervous look on her face as she glanced at him.

"Is that why you were asking me how I figured out my devil fruit powers?" He confirmed. She nodded, "I know how to make myself and others silent, but I don't know what else I can do with it."

He sighed, running a hand through his hair. Don't do it, don't do it, don't do it.

"I'll teach you."

Fuck. He did it. She looked surprised, the first time she hadn't looked at him in fear or nervousness since she found out he was a pirate.

"You know how to use it?" She asked, hope reflecting in her eyes. He gave a grunt as his answer.

"On one condition." He continued, her smile faltered a little as she looked at him hesitantly.

"You will join my crew. You will help around the ship and do whatever is asked of you." He stated his conditions, her smile fell all the way as she bit her lip in thought.

"I…I can't…"

He raised an eyebrow, she didn't have much of a choice but he was willing to hear her excuse.

"I have to go back and free the other girls…I can't just leave them…" she stated clearly.

"By yourself? I hate to point out the obvious, but I highly doubt you will be as lucky the next time you go back." Law scoffed, it was true. She was malnourished and lacked muscle, it had been almost too easy to catch up with her when she ran.

"I can't leave them." She repeated, more firmly this time. Law sat back, considering what she had told him.

It was quiet for a moment as the tall man came to a decision.

"I take care of my crew. If you join, I would be willing to help you." He told her, her look of hesitation was still there though.

"Why are you helping me?" She asked. Law didn't know how to answer, he knew why he was helping her but he didn't want to tell her about Cora. Not yet. Not even all of his crew knew, just Shachi, Penguin, Jean Bart and Bepo.

"Do you want my help or not?" He asked with a spike of irritation. It took her a moment but she slowly nodded, still apprehensive.

"Well then. Welcome to the Heart Pirates, Elena Suggitt."


	6. Chapter 5

**AN: Here is the update I promised! I will see what I can do about maybe spitting out a chapter tomorrow, but I am leaving for a convention on Thursday. I am going to be cosplaying One Piece though!**

What was he doing? Elena still couldn't figure this man out, he had no reason to help her. In fact he had wanted her gone before he had found out about her ability, it must be something to do with that.

He had explained the rules of the ship to her before sending her away to the mess hall to help the cook prepare dinner, shutting the door rather rudely in her face. The rules were pretty simple, pull your weight and don't be stupid and you would be fine. At least thats how he made it sound.

She timidly stood at the door to the kitchen where a hefty man stood. He had his back turned to her, his hair was shaved close to his head and he was flipping a frying pan as she cleared her throat.

Immediately he whipped around, she could see his green eyes starting sharply at her in narrow suspicion.

"What are you doing here?" He asked rudely.

Elena was starting to wonder if this was a good idea, she needed the help in order to free the others and Law _had_ said he could teach her how to use her devil fruit, but…

"Well?" He prompted irritably.

"Uh…Law…I mean the Captain sent me to help you with dinner…" she managed to stammer out, the large man a very intimidating sight. He seemed to stare at her for a moment, judging her candor before huffing and turning back to his work.

"Fine. Go chop up those vegetables into rectangular chunks" he demanded harshly. Elena moved to sit at the table, dragging the cutting board towards her as she picked up a carrot and took hold of the knife handle.

She stared at the gleaming stainless steel. The last knife she had held was at the house, she had wrangled it from the guard by the door and killed him with it. She had killed someone. More than one person, actually. She felt a chill run down her spine at this realization.

 _I didn't have a choice._

She tried to validate it, but it didn't make her feel any less dirty. She took a deep sigh as she looked at its glint, that wouldn't be the last man she killed. If she planned to rescue the others she would have to shed more blood.

Not for the first time Elena wondered if it was really worth it. She could just run, lay low somewhere and develop a new identity and a new life. She would never have to return to the brothel, she would be free.

She couldn't do that. She didn't have the heart.

Elena thought about the girls there. Diane had been there the longest, she was a real natural beauty and brought in the most money so Dario was a little more careful with her. If it had been 8 years ago Elena would have envied her beauty, but now she realized what a curse beauty was.

Diane had dark skin, splashed with freckles. Her dark curly hair brought out her light green eyes and when she smiled they lit up. Elena had only seen her smile once. Usually she tried to distance herself from the girls, it wouldn't do to get attached to them when they would be killed a few weeks later. It would only make things harder.

Diane had been there for six months, the longest Elena had seen any girl stay at the house (besides her). Sometimes the girls would turn hostile towards her, they would resent her for what she did to them every day. She didn't blame them. She tried her best to be cold as she drugged and prepped them every day, but she knew how it must look to the other girls. She didn't have to wear chains.

But Diane had figured her out, Elena could still remember the day she went in to clean her up after a customer. She tried to ignore the pang she felt at the woman's tear stained face and bloodied lip. Although she had been through hell, she looked at Elena with pity.

 _"_ _You don't want to be here…do you…"_ she whispered, though it was less of a question and more of a statement.

Elena had only looked at her with shocked eyes, many girls had tried to speak with her. To plead with her to release them. But none had ever shown any sort of sympathy towards her, why should they? They were the ones strapped to the bed, not her.

She shook her head slowly, not meeting Diane's gaze. But the woman grabbed her arm to get her attention as she was sponging off the blood from her wrist.

Brown eyes snapped to green and they just stared at each other in a silent understanding for a moment.

When Elena brought her dinner to her she had placed some of her own portion onto it. She didn't think Diane realized it but it was her way of thanks. Thanks for understanding. She hoped she was still alive.

She couldn't live the rest of her life in peace if she didn't even attempt to help the dark skinned beauty who understood her in a way no one else had for the first time in years.

"Whats the matter? Don't know how to use a knife?" A voice said, Elena snapped her head up and apologized as she began to slice the carrots up. Even if she didn't know why Law wanted her on the ship to begin with, she wasn't about to turn away help that she needed. That Diane and the other girls needed.

"So you a part of the crew now or what?" Came the brash voice of the cook.

"I guess so." Elena said, focusing on cutting the vegetables. She heard the cook mumble something under his breath unhappily, she opted to ignore it as she continued with her task.

It didn't matter if he liked her or not. She just needed his Captain's help.

* * *

What the hell was he doing. Was he a complete idiot? Law knew the answer to both of those questions. He had half a mind to just dump her at the next island they came to, she had no skills that would benefit the crew and she would likely just be a large distraction.

But he couldn't. Not when she reminded him so much of Corazon. What he did need to worry about it how he would justify it to his crew. Penguin, Shachi and Bepo would know his true reasoning but he had to come up with a better excuse to validate her presence on the ship. Still, she had to possess some fighting spirit in order to have survived as long as she had.

There was one redeemable quality he saw in her though, one that he could relate with. He could see the desire for revenge in her eyes, she wasn't content to cower. She wanted vengeance, and he didn't blame her.

Now for the matter at hand. Law sifted through the wanted posters on his desk, he had his crew pick up every new one he could find so he would be up to date on any potential enemies. He likely wouldn't find much if what Elena said held any merit, there was no way a brothel of that much power and influence would be allowed to operate without some help from the Marines. He would have to ask her about what he should be preparing for when he got the chance.

He felt like an idiot even though there was no way for him to have known about her situation. It made too much sense in the aftermath. The fact that she couldn't swim to the ship, her interest in his devil fruit ability, her ignorance to his identity, her weakened and malnourished state, why she flinched when he reached for her unexpectedly.

Knock knock knock.

"Come in" the dark doctor shouted. The door opened and his chef, Vincent, opened the door.

"Dinners ready when you are, Captain."

"Bring it to my room." Law ordered with a grateful nod of his head. Vincent voiced his confirmation and turned to go, but seemed to hesitate before glancing at him one more time.

"Is she really on the crew now?" The large man asked skeptically.

"Yes. Make her feel welcome. Also make sure Penguin and Shachi behave themselves." Law said pointedly, not wanting to spook the girl off by his crew members obsession with women.

Vincent nodded as Law's door shut with a click. Now it was back to the wanted posters.

* * *

It was much like the first day she had arrived. Almost every member of the crew stared at her as she shifted uncomfortably. She was relieved when the cook she had been working with re-entered the room, taking some of the attention off of her. He sat down and began to eat his own meal when he noticed the stares she was receiving.

"What are you lot looking at? The Captain has made her part of the crew, now stop gawking and eat. Heathens." The large man said irritably.

"Really?" The man she had met earlier, Penguin he had said his name was, asked with a gleeful expression.

Elena nodded with a forced smile, still a little uncomfortable.

"Nice! You already know me, I'm an engineer on the sub." Penguin said with a smile that made her relax ever so slightly.

"I'm Shachi, I'm an engineer too!" The redhead she had sat next to during all the other meals she had on the sub introduced.

"I'm Jean Bart." A large man introduced, voice deep but expression kind.

"I'm Bepo! First mate and navigator!" It startled her a bit to hear the polar bear speak, but she couldn't muster up the courage to inquire about it. She just gave him a nervous smile.

"I'm Jasper!" A shaggy haired brunette exclaimed.

"I'm Walter." The calmest one, a tall thin man with black hair and brown eyes, said.

"My name's Brice. I was the newest member until you came along. That big lug over there is Vincent, he is always grumpy so don't take it personally." A friendly looking man with sandy blonde hair and dimples said, gesturing to himself and the chef she had been working with.

"I'm Elena." She said timidly, raising a hand slightly in a wave. Even though she was still a little nervous, she felt oddly at ease. These men seemed friendly, they didn't leer at her like the ones from the pleasure house.

With that the crew went back to eating, their curiosity seemingly sated for the time being. She listened as they joked with each other, a few times some mashed potatoes were flung across the table before Vincent scolded them. She couldn't help the small smile that came to her face, she hadn't had a dinner this relaxed and playful since Arienne and her mother.

She was grateful that they didn't ask her any more questions, she didn't particularly want to explain about her past to anyone else today. The crew members slowly began to disperse as they had every other meal, until the polar bear stood and addressed her.

"When you are finished would you like me to show you around the ship?" He asked kindly. She swallowed and nodded, standing up.

As the pair walked down the various hallways and up and down the levels on the submarine Elena was certain she was going to get lost sooner or later. The bear had a strange habit of apologizing every time she asked a question, but it was an endearing trait.

"Whats that room?" Elena asked, pointing to a door that several of the crew members were walking in and out of.

"Oh, sorry! Thats the recreation room! I'll show you!" Bepo apologized as he held the door open for her. When she walked in she saw most of the crew relaxing inside.

Shachi and Penguin were playing a card game while Jean Bart read a book in the corner. Jasper and Walter were arguing over something in the newspaper and Brice napped in a chair, he had a mustache drawn on him.

"Hey!" Penguin said with a wave and a smile.

Brice gave a loud snort in his sleep.

"Wanna come over and play the next hand with us?" Shachi invited the two over, Bepo looked at her and she shrugged as the walked over.

It turns out Elena was really good at poker. She had watched Dario play it countless times, but she hadn't ever played herself. Soon enough she found herself smiling and laughing, her chest feeling light with happiness for the first time in a long time.

It didn't last though. The door swung open and Law entered, nodding to his crew members. Her stomach clenched in nervousness when she saw him, she knew he had offered to help but there was still something about the man that made her uneasy.

"Elena, come with me." He ordered, not even checking to see if she was following as he turned his back and walked out.

"Ohhhhh" Walter started to tease, his smirk ending with a splutter of pain as Jasper elbowed him.

Elena stood to follow the man, certain she would get lost if she lost sight of him. She scrambled out the door where he was waiting for her, he silently turned and motioned for her to follow.

She took a deep breath. Here goes nothing.


End file.
